PCI Express 2.0 x16 ?

[the_Meaze]

If I purchase video card that is PCI Express 2.0 x16, will it work with a motherboard that has an expansion slot of PCI Express x16?

Thanks in advance,

Meaze

[Masaki 7-11]

Yes, you'll be able to use PCIe 2.0 x16 video cards with PCIe 1.0 x16 expansion slots and PCIe 1.0 x16 video cards with PCIe 2.0 x16 expansion slots.

[the_Meaze]

Thanks for the quick response. I guess I should have asked this in the original post. Will I still be getting maximum performance out of the video card? Or would it be better for me to find a mobo with a PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface slot?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by the_Meaze Thanks for the quick response. I guess I should have asked this in the original post. Will I still be getting maximum performance out of the video card? Or would it be better for me to find a mobo with a PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface slot?

You won't have problems in terms of performance is using a PCIe 2.0 card with a PCIe 1.0 slot. Most video cards still haven't taken full advantage of PCIe 1.0 (although they are getting close, so that's why we now have PCIe 2.0 [Only cards that would be able to take advantage of PCIe 2.0 for now are the dual chipset cards like the 9800GX2]).

[gods_son_is_me]

Actually, only a few commercial games have even came close to using the potential of PCIe 2.0. Like, Flight Sim X and Crysis, that's about it.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by gods_son_is_me Actually, only a few commercial games have even came close to using the potential of PCIe 2.0. Like, Flight Sim X and Crysis, that's about it.

It's not the software which affects the use of PCIe 2.0, it's the video card, most video cards just don't provide enough power to need PCIe 2.0. If there is a card that is fast enough to take advantage of PCIe 2.0, you'll have plenty of games that will be able to take advantage of that card (as far as I know all cards work at or close to 100% when gaming because even when the settings are maxed out, you'll continue to get better frame rates as the video cards improve).